Then And Now
by TabieCat
Summary: Fern's backstory, will -not- be a one shot. When the faunus girl's life is turned upside down, she is left with an amazing possibility - to go to Beacon. But just how much suffering does she have to endure to prove her loyalty?


It didn't take long for the young Faunus to tire of their game, and the older of the pair seemed to sense this. The boy in light green stopped running from his twin and turned to face her, his long hair being caught in the breeze as he smiled brightly.

"New game! If you wanna be a huntress like Mom was, you gotta have good reflexes." He always loved to boast about the things the old man had taught him while she had been ill, about the ways of the land, and human nature and missions as a huntsman, they would listen for hours to his magical stories. "In this game, you have to slap my leg, that's it. Don't let me hit your leg and try to hit mine." He lowered his stance, leaning forward, arms outstretched, then he scuttled from side to side, making his hands into pincers, eliciting a laugh from his twin.

"You look like a crab!" She laughed, bending over and he reached around and gently slapped her leg, before whooping and cheering his victory.

"Cheat! I wasn't ready! I'll get you Vi'a!" She sauntered around, her brown tail providing her with excellent balance as she dodged and pranced away from her twin, finally, she had backed him up against a tree and he found himself unable to maneuver away from his sister fast enough to dodge and she caught him, and began laughing merrily.

"Well done.. Woo, that was tiring." Vida sank down to sit on one of the roots of the ancient tree and produced a bottle of the special drink he only gave her when she was ill, the thick, purple fluid sparkled slightly in it's glass bottle and she could only wonder how it never got smashed.

"Here, drink up, you're not fully better yet, I can feel it." His semblance, the ability to judge any living creature's health by simply touching it, or even just being in the vicinity if it came to it. The people hated him, at first they thought he has a sickness just because he could touch someone and tell them that they were ill, and then, when their parents had disappeared, they had been shooed away from the town.

That was when Kamo had come in, invited them into his house and helped them recover. He had trained Vida while Fern lay ill in bed, and gave Vida's name to a friend of his that used Dust to make medicine. Fern was a lot better, and a lot stronger than she had been before. Having been born with 2 semblances really took it's toll on her, but it had largely been her mental strength that helped her recover as the two deities fought over control of her body. As a result of this, she could rarely use her semblance without becoming ill.

"Thanks Vida." She accepted the somehow warm substance and took a sip - the combination of berries and dust medicine once again numbed her senses to taste alone. When she was finished with the palm sized bottle, she handed it back, being careful not to touch Vida.

"Is still there, isn't it?"

"I can feel it all, your thigh is still sore from where i got you, isn't it?" She paused a moment, "And your head too, and the scar on your right hand is troubling you."

The ability to heal. They both shared it, though the older sibling's was far weaker, he still used it when this happened.

He knelt in front of her, and she pulled her shirt down a little bit, exposing the tattoo on the side of her neck. Vida reached out, and touched it briefly, feeling the power course through him and into his sister. The tattoo glowed briefly and she passed out.

~Time Gap~

"Morning," I yawn and slap Vida away so I can get up. He acts hurt, but every morning he continues to stand over me while i wake up to freak me out, so it can't hurt him that much.

"One of the bulletins was the old underground giving off some tremors in the city, nothing to worry about though." He grins slyly at me, knowing I'm frustrated he left without me again.

"Vida, I'm a lot better now, why won't you take me into the town?"

"Aww, no sarcastic comment about the world falling apart?" He pouts, "Don't fool me, Fern, until we can see one of those doctors or one semblance kills the other you won't be fully better."

I sigh, knowing that there's truth to his words only makes it worse.

"Buuutttt, I managed to finish the swords, we can spar now!"

He's kidding, he thinks I'm too ill to properly spar him.

"You're right - you are a lot better. I'm not kidding, you know." He turns, and pulls on his light green jacket, quickly pulling his shoulder-length hair into a loose ponytail, before heading to the door, "You coming or what?"

I've always wanted to learn to use swords, Vida prefers more mechanical weapons like guns, but the simplicity makes swords so amazing. My black leggings are quickly replaced with brown ones and I decide my green tee shirt will survive another day. So I pull on my mom's old trench coat and do up the single button on it, just below my neck. As I slip into my boots I pull my long hair out of the back of the coat and let it hang around me. The boots are fairly new but I wear them so much they're already comfortable and worn, Vida bought them after he got paid to clear out a Grimm's nest.

I'm going to get stronger. I'm going to get better and be a huntress someday. And then Vida and I will be on a team and protect people. We could be the heroes from the books, and maybe people wouldn't hate us for being faunus.

It may be childish, but I'm allowed to dream.

~Time Gap~

We spar properly now, swords locked in the heat of battle, guns blazing to propel us forwards. We spar like this every day, we get up, do some hand-to-hand, then spar until we're too tired to continue. Neither of us ever win, but we're a lot better than when we started.

I aim my gun behind me, fire and fly forwards from the force. I raise my sword, preparing to make an offensive when Vida stops, his hand shakily coming up to his chest. I alter my route, and hook my sword into the floor, spinning around and skidding backwards. It's a ruse, he's trying to confuse me to get the upper hand.

Vida's shaky voice interrupts my thoughts.

"Fern, hide." He falls to the floor, the hand still clutching his chest now stained a terrible red, his right hand - having dropped the wooden sword - is in front of him. It takes me a moment to realise that my brother is dying.

This is not a ruse.

**(****_Keep calm. What's the logical thing to do?_****_)_**

_(Help Vida.)_

**_(_****_No, they're still there. You'll be shot too._****_)_**

_(Neutralise the threat.)_

I shoot myself forwards, knowing my blank rounds couldn't injure someone that way, into the trees. I use my momentum to leap up onto one of the lower branches where I listen, and hear the panting of a person - no, a man. Stealth was one of the first lessons Vida taught me, so I am able to leap through the leaves soundlessly as I quickly shorten the gap between us. I leap down and a rustling from the side catches my attention. My boot strikes slightly off and hits his shoulder, but I manage to catch myself as I tumble to my feet with all the grace of a baby giraffe.

The first man falls to his knees several feet away, clutching his shoulder, his voice husky, "Bitch, you'll pay for that."

I dodge around a punch thrown by the second and retaliate in kind, my fist catching him under the chin. I'm not strong enough and he pushes me backwards before I can manoeuvre out of it. My stance low, I remember the gun his partner still has. I go to make a sloppy kick and when the second man crouches to jump I use him as a springboard, planting my feet firmly on his shoulders elegantly somersault backwards, landing next to his comrade. I grab his gun, reaching across his chest and he tries to grab my arm, but I'm too quick and he just grabs his own shoulder harshly. Several vile words are spat in my direction.

I place the gun at the side of his head, a warning to his comrade. "Leave or I'll shoot him."

The huge man beneath me chuckles and before I can understand what's happening, I see the afternoon sky just poking it's way through the thick jungle of leaves. It takes me longer still to comprehend that I've been grabbed my the hulk of a man before me, but as the kaleidoscope of faces with a broken nose come together, I spit into the eyes and am throw backwards into the branches.

I'm choking. My coat is caught. I'm too weak, unless I unleash some sort of special hidden power like in the fairytales, I'm going to die here.

(**_I'm right here, Fern. Let me help you._**)

(_No, Vida wouldn't want that._)

(**_Vida is going to die if you don't hurry up, and at this rate, so are you._**)

(_Can you handle it?_)

(**_I possess the power of a God, there's not much I can't handle. Open your eyes._**)

I do so. The connection is instant and swarms my head with a low buzzing. The man stops mid-stride and his eyes widen. I feel the semblance pulling on the blood vessels in the man's brain until –

(_Stop! You'll kill him!_)

(**_Or he'll kill you._**)

his eyes roll upwards and he collapses forwards with an undignified dying moan. His broken nose is still bleeding, even if death.

My hands don't feel like my own, and the semblance is still in partial control of my body as they unclasp the button and I fall to the ground. Without questioning or caring, the standard-issue city rifle is in my hands and the man before me is dead.

(**_Aww, I wanted to play with that one_**)

(_You just killed one man! Isn't that enough for you?_)

(**_Are we going to stand here and question my homicidal tendencies or are we going to help your precious twin?_**)

I'm running before it's even finished.

(_**If you were faster, he would be okay. You're weak. You were too slow.**_)

(_No! He's going to be okay!_)

I'm at the clearing. Our clearing.

(_I'm going to heal him._)

The clearing where my sole family member is lying, face down and barely breathing.

(_**How? You pathetic girl, you can't do anything.**_)

"Vida!"

(_Leave us._)

A deep breath and the purity of my healing overcomes me, I've pushed the semblance further down than I've ever managed before. I'm calm and roll my brother onto his back.

"Vi'a, it's me. Fern."

A small smile creeps it's way across my brother's beautiful face.

_My brother, my Vida, my only family._

"Fern… Take this…"

His hand is in it's pocket, my medicine. I down it in one.

I feel my cells multiplying and dying, the buzz of energy in the air around me, but mostly my brother's pain.

_My beautiful brother with the eyes so full of life._

I focus my energy into my hand and with a cold numbness feel the bones and muscles slowly start to pull themselves together beneath my cold fingers which are placed over Vida's heart.

_The only family member that stayed with me._

"Fern, don't overexert yourself.." he struggles out.

_My perfect, strong brother that is the mirror opposite of me._

"I'm not going to _let you die_, goddammit!"

_ The only person I love, because with him, everything's right._

His smile is warm and gentle as it always has been, "Don't forget me."

_My sibling with the warm smile that has always bourn his sorrow_.

He doesn't reach up to touch my cheek - we're not from a shitty romantic story with a tragic ending. He offers me one of his brightest smiles and my semblance stops – there is nothing alive to heal.

And that's it. It's all over.

* * *

><p>I don't know how long I scream for. Or how long I cry after I start coughing up blood. It's a long time though. And the semblance was right – it's all my fault Vida died.<p>

My twin, my Vida, my only family.

(**_He's dead because of you._**)

My beautiful brother with the eyes so full of life.

(**_You were too slow._**)

My only family member who stayed with me.

(**_You're so weak, you barely saved yourself._**)

My perfect, strong brother that is the mirror opposite of me.

(**_Pull yourself together, you're cracking._**)

The only person I love, because with him, everything's right.

(**_Your thoughts are trained to unsteady ideas._**)

My sibling with the warm smile that has always borne his sorrow.

(**_How much of his suffering was your fault?_**)

My beautiful brother that never did any wrong -

Is _gone._


End file.
